1

Including students with special education

needs and developing inclusive practices
Questionnaire for schools to complete


School: MATAMATA PRIMARY SCHOOL
Profile No: 1813 Date: 17 APRIL 2014

ABOUT THIS SURVEY IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This survey is part of a national evaluation ERO is undertaking about how schools are including
students with special education needs, and progress towards the government target that:
by the end of 2014, 80 percent of schools will be demonstrating inclusive practice for
students with special education needs
1
.
This evaluation is focused on two groups of students with special education needs:
1. students who need teaching adaptations and/or individualised support to access the New
Zealand Curriculum (NZC)
2. students who are likely to learn within level one of NZC throughout their time at school.

Students with high needs include those who have physical, sensory, neurological, psychiatric,
behavioural or intellectual challenges and make up approximately three percent of the student
population. Typically they receive additional funding or support from such sources as: Ongoing
Resourcing Scheme (ORS), Communication Service, Severe Behaviour Service, or School High Health
Needs Fund.
The survey is designed to collect some factual information about:
number of students with special education needs
school systems and structures to support inclusion
developing and improving inclusion.

The Information you provide here will be used to inform discussion with the review team about your
provisions, practices and outcomes for students with special needs. You can choose to complete the
questionnaire electronically or by hand.
Please give a copy of your completed questionnaire to the review team.

The questionnaire has been designed to collect factual and attitude information. We have been able to
use the responses schools made in previous years to develop response categories for most questions so
that you can provide the information quickly. If you wish to comment on other aspects, there is an
opportunity at the end of the questionnaire, or you can include the information during discussions with
the reviewers. The review team will discuss other aspects of your provisions for students with special
education needs during your schools review.


1
Ministry of Education, Statement of Intent.
2

Section 1: Context: Number of students with special education needs
Section 1 is about students in your school who have special education needs.
If you do not have any students with high needs, tick here: ____ and complete Section 2 and 3.


1 Number of students currently receiving funding in each of the categories listed?
Category Number of students
Verified ORS students 2
Communication/speech-language initiative 3
Severe Behaviour Service /initiative 0
School High Health Needs 2
Interim Response fund 0
Physical disability (moderate physical needs) 1
Blind or low vision (moderate vision needs) 0
Deaf and hearing impaired (moderate hearing needs) 0
Assistive technology and specialised equipment, low vision aids 0
Other, please state



Number of students
Who are likely to work long-term within level 1 of NZC 0
With Individual Education Plans (IEPs) because they have special needs 2
With identified special needs 7
Other, please state


Students can be in more than one category.

2 Does the school have any of the following?
Tick those that apply
Attached unit for special needs
Satellite class/es
Separate unit for students with high needs who spend most of their time
there

Withdrawal class where some students are supported
Home room for some students



3

Section 2: School systems to support inclusion
Section 2 is about school processes and systems that support the inclusion of students
with special education needs.
3 Does the school have a SENCO/Head of Learning Support? Yes - TWO
If Yes, Do they have a tertiary qualification in special education? No
Degree / tertiary papers or courses / seminars (tick those that apply)
Approximately how many hours each week do they spend on the role? 1 hr/week
Which of the following roles do they have?
Roles and responsibilities of SENCO Tick those
that apply
Liaising with early childhood services Principal
Liaising with parents /whnau Principal
Liaising with Ministry and specialist services
Identifying SWSEN and assessing their specific needs
Contributing to IEPs Principal
Coordinating support for students and allocating teacher aides (TAs)
Identifying and arranging PLD needed
Using evidence about student learning to develop appropriate programmes and
strategies to meet needs

Supporting and overseeing teachers and TAs
Ways of recognising the fine-grained progress and achievement of students with
special education needs who may be working long-term within level 1 of the NZC

Monitoring student progress and planning next steps
Evaluating strategies to determine whether they are effective for particular
students

Working strategically with leaders to improve outcomes for students with special
education needs

Reporting to the board on provisions and outcomes for SWSEN
Liaising with next school , tertiary provider, or community support group Principal
Other, please state


4 Which of the following systems or structures does the school use to support achievement
and/or inclusion of students with special education needs?
Systems, structures, initiatives Tick those
that apply
Special education needs management/coordination committee/team
Special education needs register identifying the resources and additional support
needed for each student

A plan to improve inclusion of SWSEN and review progress
PLD for teachers and teacher aides focused on student needs/outcomes
Time allocated to plan for SWSEN and monitor their progress
Time allocated for teachers to share and promote effective practice
TA Included in IEP meetings
Locally raised funding used for SWSEN
A system to monitor progress of individual SWSEN
A process to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used
Other, please state- Use of agencies to provide wrap around support service
4

5 Which of the following specialist services has supported the school to include students with
special education needs?
Tick those that
apply
Resource Teacher Learning and Behaviour /Supplementary Learning Support
Specialist Teacher Outreach Service
Speech-language therapist / communication service
Intensive Wraparound Service
Behaviour Crisis Response Service / Severe Behaviour Service
Behaviour support worker
Interim response fund
Occupational therapists and Physiotherapist
Psychologist
Advisers on deaf children/resource teacher deaf (AODC/RTD)
Deaf education resource centre
BLENNZ (Blind and low vision education network)/ Resource teacher vision (RTV)
Orientation and mobility instructors (low vision)
Public health nurse
Moderate physical service
Social worker in school
Ministry special education adviser, kaitakawaenga, technology coordinators
School specialist service providers
Specialist itinerant teachers
Resource Teacher Literacy (RT:Lit)
Correspondence school (Te Kura)
Other, please state

Section 3: Developing and improving inclusion
Section 3 is about the usefulness of resources in developing inclusive practices, how confident school
staff feel, and steps the school has taken in the last 3 years to support students with special
education needs.
6 How useful have the following resources been in supporting inclusion of all students?
MoE publications and resources Very
useful
Useful Not
useful
Not
used
What an inclusive school looks like
Individual Education Plans working as a team
Collaboration for Success: Individual Education Plans
Listening and speaking (moderate communication needs)
Springboards to Practice
Kia Tutangata Ai Supporting Learning (teacher
aides/kaiawhina)

National transition guidelines for transitioning students
with special needs from school to adult life

Teacher booklet: about attention deficit disorder
Teacher booklet: access to learning (vision)
Teacher booklet: Autism spectrum disorder
SE Online, TKI
IEP Online, TKI

5

Very
useful
Useful Not
useful
Not
used
PB4L online, TKI
Through Different Eyes (narrative assessment for students
with severe education needs), TKI

Online Knowledge Centre (Term 3, 2014)
Inclusive Practices Tools (NZCER)
Resources for parents
Other, please state The Family Book (hearing loss)
NZ ASD Guideline Flyer
ORS Scheme - Educators
Planned actions Success for All
Publications specifically for trustees
Effective governance: Building inclusive schools, 2013
Charters and analysis of Variance: Guidance for supporting
students with special education needs , Oct 2013


7 How confident is the school that they can provide a fully inclusive school that enables
students with special education needs to attend, participate, progress and achieve?
Students with special education needs Very confident Confident Not confident
Attend
Participate
Progress
Achieve

8 What three things are you most proud of regarding your inclusion of students with special
education needs?
1 = Dedicated Effort Achieves Positive Results - Persevering approach to go the extra mile
to source tools, resources, strategies to support of SWSEN and develop special initiatives to
meet the needs of students when agencies cant provide support.
2 = Relationships - All students accept and welcome each other for who they are regardless
of differences. Staff, families and agencies work closely together in respectful supportive
way.
3 = Involvement with families and whanau staff work closely with the students support
team to ensure they feel welcome and assured that everything that can be done to meet the
individual needs of their child is being undertaken.

9 What are the greatest challenges or barriers the school faces in enrolling and supporting
students with special education needs?
1 = Isolation from Agencies access is difficult with virtually no services in the district
no PHN, No SL therapist. Distance from specialist services for families eg CDC
2= Time Lapse in Service from Some Agencies there is a lot of follow-up required at every
step with some agencies to ensure they stick to the task of providing service to us for the
student

10 Any other comments about including all students?
Please have this information ready to discuss with the review team during the review.
It would also be useful to have copies of information about SWSEN and inclusion, such as:
reports to the board
outcomes for students
Self-review.